The Chocolate Bar Interview 028: Mike Renfree, Raglan Chocolate

The Chocolate Bar Interview 028: Mike Renfree, Raglan Chocolate

For my latest interview I caught up with Mike Renfree from Raglan Chocolate in Raglan, New Zealand. Mike and his partner Simone launched their company back in July 2017, and it's been great getting to know them over the past few years. Mike and Simone really epitomise the craft chocolate ethos - bringing together a perfect blend of art and science, a D.I.Y attitude and a strong passion for ethical and sustainable business practices. I'm so pleased to be stocking Raglan's beautiful bars in our online store, and to be featuring their exceptional Solomon Islands 70% bar in our September subscription boxes. If you'd like to know more about what's been happening behind the scenes, be sure to have a read of this little interview...Ā 

raglan chocolateĀ 

What were you doing before you became a chocolate maker and what sparked your interest in chocolate?

I started my working career as a chef but have worked as a food technologist for most of it, so Iā€™ve always been in food. I firstĀ got into chocolate making about ten years ago when I did some chocolate product development work for a smallish traditional (not bean-to-bar) chocolate company. They had a stone grinder sitting unused in the corner and when I asked about it, I was told in incredulous tones that ā€˜some hippies in California were using them to make ā€˜bean-to-bar chocolateā€™. I brought ā€˜Big Malā€™ from them a couple of years later.

Where are you sourcing your beans from and how do you decide which beans to work with?Ā 

One of the cornerstones of bean-to-bar chocolate - and very important for me - is the ethics of the supply chain and quality of the raw materials. Iā€™m very proud to be a disruptor; part of a relatively new and small international movement that is raising the quality of chocolate and the quality of farmersā€™ lives by paying them a fair price for their beans. In an ideal world the big international buyers of cacao like Mondelez (Cadbury), Hercheys and Mars will one day have to pay farmers more as well. We are fortunate in New Zealand that Trade Aid import pallets of cacao beans when they bring in much bigger volumes of coffee beans. They haveĀ relationships with the growers at the source and can vouch forĀ the quality of theĀ wonderful Peruvian and Dominican RepublicĀ beans we use. The Solomon Islands beans we source from the Cathliro Cooperative are currently myĀ favourite, with beautiful lightĀ fruit notes andĀ aĀ heart warming story of enterprise for social good.

raglan chocolate interview nz

Is chocolate making more art or science?Ā 

Definitely both! Itā€™s kind of like making coffee where you have to continuously make adjustments for variation in humidity etc to get the best from it.

What are some of the biggest lessons youā€™ve learnt since starting Raglan Chocolate?Ā 

That makingĀ chocolateĀ is so much harder than you could ever imagine, alsoĀ more interesting and varied. But the biggest challenge seems to be educating the public about the difference between bean-to-bar and confectionery chocolate.

How does your location affect the chocolate you make?Ā 

Living in Raglan is actually one of the reasons I make chocolate. We moved to Raglan six years ago and were inspired to ā€˜take the plungeā€™ by the supportive community that just seemed to make anything possible.

raglan chocolate

What are some of the benefits and challenges of making chocolate in micro batches?

Variability in the raw materials and the process can lead to some surprising results, sometimes stunning and other times disappointing. It goes back to that art and science thing and Iā€™m continually working on getting that balance right.

What inspires you to do what you do?

A number of things, but a big part is the desire to do what I couldnā€™t do when working for ā€˜Corporate Foodā€™, like selecting ingredients and packaging based on quality, the producersā€™ ethics and environmental impact.

Weā€™ve recently started stocking some of your new-look bars. Could you tell us a little about the design process for the new range?Ā 

It seemed that the stars aligned for us. I bumped into an artist friend in an art gallery six weeks prior to Chocstock. Iā€™d wanted Denise to do something for our little 50g bars years ago, but she hadĀ disappeared overseas and this fluke meeting was the first I knew that she was back. I said we only had six weeks and to my surprise she thought we could do it. There were some late nights (not for me - I was asleep), but for Denise and Simone my partner who is the detail person in the team. It was back and forthĀ getting the detail right until 4am one night. Nothing like a deadline to makeĀ things happen! I just love the artwork, there are little things (literally) like a cacao bean in a yoga pose and another chilling in the sun, itā€™s fun andĀ tells a story just as we wanted.

raglan chocolate new zealand bean-to-bar

What are some of your favourite chocolate bars that youā€™ve tasted recently?Ā 

Most recently Iā€™ve been eating some beautiful barsĀ acquired at theĀ fabulous Chocstock Festival. Such wonderful variety itā€™sĀ hard to name aĀ favouriteā€¦.but the Foundry Tanzania, OMG! And prior to that it wasĀ one of the Dick Taylor bars -Madagascar. Mind blowingĀ fruitiness!! Wow, Inspiring!

Whatā€™s your favourite thing about being a chocolate maker?Ā 

It (chocolate) makes everybody smile.

raglan chocolate

Thanks so much to Mike for taking time out of his busy chocolate making schedule for this interview. Make sure you checkout Raglan Chocolate in our online store.

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1 comment

Thanks for sharing !

NATHALIE

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